alby Posted August 25, 2003 Share Posted August 25, 2003 To all tax minimisation experts in keyboard land. I am not a professional musician, but a full time computer consulting type person. Its a long shot, but any ideas about being able to deduct your Keyboard (i.e. new digital piano) as a tax deduction? I live in Australia. Regards Alby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moj Posted August 25, 2003 Share Posted August 25, 2003 Alby, I suggest you try the Harmony Central forum (KSS forum) There a few aussies members who own a digital pianos and post frequently. Mb they can help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alby Posted August 25, 2003 Author Share Posted August 25, 2003 Thanks MoJazz. Will do. Regards Alby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmieWannaB Posted August 25, 2003 Share Posted August 25, 2003 From what I understand, in the U.S. you can only deduct the keyboard if you made money off it. Also, you're only allowed to duct the "business portion." I assume that it won't be too different in Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted August 25, 2003 Share Posted August 25, 2003 Originally posted by JimmieWannaB: From what I understand, in the U.S. you can only deduct the keyboard if you made money off it. Also, you're only allowed to duct the "business portion." I'm not sure that's correct...as I understand it, if you make money at a keyboard-related business and can show that you'll be using your purchase in activities related to that business, you can deduct it. Of course, I'm no accountant, and I could be wrong... dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daBowsa Posted August 25, 2003 Share Posted August 25, 2003 I guess that would mean you'd also have to tell the IRS about the money you made using that keyboard... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tusker Posted August 25, 2003 Share Posted August 25, 2003 Obviously the rules are going to be different between the US and Australia. I am a CPA, but not a tax accountant. In fact I haven't done any accounting stuff in years. But I am a knowledgable tax payer and own some business interests which keep me busy around tax time... In the US, if your music qualifies as a business instead of a hobby under the "hobby" rule, then you can deduct expenses associated with it. (Hobby rule in the US means making money 3 out of 5 years.) You can plan your cd releases and your equipment purchases to take advantage of this. Note that you are allowed to deduct the depreciation of the asset, not the purchase of it(with a few specific exceptions). However, if you shield a sizable amount of expense under this kind of stuff, the IRS targets you (they have a computer sampling program that increases the chances of audit in different categories) and they usually grab a few people a year to terrorize. While they usually can't make the audities in this category pay money back, or go to jail, they can make life hell for awhile by requesting every document you should have kept. The IRS does try to compensate for some obvious tax loopholes by being more dogged on the audit side. They do hit the home business area a little bit each year, even though the financial return from the audits are not great. It helps keep people honest. So it's more a threat of harassment through audit. And it's tax avoidance, not tax evasion. In the US. As with all strategems, consult an expert. A tax accountant or tax lawyer will tell you the rules for Australia. My brother is an accountant with GE in Sydney. And I have actually hired and consulted with an Australian tax accountant about my parent's tax returns. So I know enough to be dangerous. I believe some similar provisions are in place there, but in general the US is more lenient toward start-up and home based businesses. I don't know any specifics. Best, Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byrdman Posted August 25, 2003 Share Posted August 25, 2003 Originally posted by alby: To all tax minimisation experts in keyboard land. I am not a professional musician, but a full time computer consulting type person. Its a long shot, but any ideas about being able to deduct your Keyboard (i.e. new digital piano) as a tax deduction? I live in Australia. Regards Alby.Put wheels on it and drive it to work every day. Actually they got snippy about claiming car deductions years ago. Unless you are making some money using it or using it to gain a qualification that can lead to employment you are SOL. You may be able to find some wrinkles if you use it for charitable work. Note - I left OZ 12 years ago so things may have changed. But I doubt it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odyssian Posted September 28, 2003 Share Posted September 28, 2003 Sorry to bring up this old thread, I thought I'd share the info in this link about claiming hobby deductions: http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=businessNews&storyID=3519580 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odyssian Posted September 28, 2003 Share Posted September 28, 2003 Sorry to bring up this old thread, I thought I'd share the info in this link about claiming hobby deductions: http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=businessNews&storyID=3519580 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odyssian Posted September 28, 2003 Share Posted September 28, 2003 Hey! There's an echo in here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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